What is the "structural" approach to
language teaching? If your classroom is full of students that memorize
vocabulary and grammar rules through repitition and rote learning, and are
corrected for even the smallest mistake whilst speaking or writing English,
then you are a champion of the structural teaching approach. No doubt
your students are learning a lot of English, but how effective and how
enjoyable is this process?
An approach to language teaching has been developed
which attempts to overcome the weaknesses of the "structural
approach" (which incidentally is the kind of teaching methodology that
tends to prevail in Asian public schools). The new approach is based on
viewing language as a combination of:
a) Linguistic Structures b) Situational Settings c) Communicative Acts
This is known as the "communicative
approach" to language teaching. Communication is not simply a matter
of what is said (structure/lexis),
but where it is said, by whom, when
and why it is said. In short,
this is basically the "communicative function" or "purpose"
of language.
At the opposite extreme from the structural approach,
and with at least as many flaws, is the purely "conversational"
approach, where it is assumed that exposure to lots of conversation from a
native English speaker will produce a high level of aptitude in the
students. Whereas the structural approach promotes accuracy and tends to
inhibit communicative confidence, the conversational approach tends to create
communicative confidence in combination with many entrenched errors.
Being keen to communicate and yet not being able to do so properly is almost as
risky as knowing what to say but not having the confidence or practice to use
it.
